Victim Services And Rape Crisis Center

​Almost all of us, at some time in our lives will be touched by crime, through the loss of a loved one or as a victim ourselves. People who have survived an act of violence or the death of a loved one that is painful emotionally and physically may experience a full range of reactions. The Alachua County Victim Services & Rape Crisis Center provides services to survivors of interpersonal violence, sexual violence and personal injury crimes. Established in the Gainesville/Alachua County community for more than 36 years, the program is available to support and assist anyone who is a victim or survivor of violence.

Originally, providing primarily traditional core services such as criminal justice accompaniment, crisis intervention and assistance with victim compensation the County's Victim Services & Rape Crisis Center is the cornerstone of victim services in the Gainesville/Alachua County community. The program has received statewide and national recognition for providing creative and non-traditional services for victims of violence, such as a computer workstation to provide internet access to employment opportunities and tutorial software for writing a resume and managing finances, etc.

If you choose not to contact our program or utilize our services, we wish you the best. If you decide to contact us, we are only a phone call away, (352) 264-6760; 24 hours a day, we welcome your call.

We also welcome you to read our brochure on the services that we offer.

​Alachua County Victim Services & Rape Crisis Center is the certified Rape Crisis Center for Alachua, Bradford and Union counties. This means that survivors of sexual violence in Bradford and Union counties can access many of the same free, confidential services we provide in Alachua County, including 24/7 emergency outreach, face-to-face counseling, restraining order assistance, and criminal justice support and advocacy.

We applaud the Gainesville Police Department for creating a secure website allowing survivors of rape to share information anonymously. The information will be kept confidential, and survivors have the option to share as many or as few details as they are comfortable providing. For example, the survivor does not have to identify herself or himself. Most importantly, we encourage all survivors to seek medical assistance and support services.

Counselors are available on our 24 Hour Sexual Assault Helpline at (352) 264-6760 or toll free at (866) 252-5439 to speak with you.

We at Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center are passionate about providing a variety of LGBTQ+ competent services for survivors of violence. As well as our traditional services like one-on-one counseling, criminal justice advocacy, and assistance filing injunctions, our office offers a support group specifically for LGBTQ+ identified survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence. We also ensure that all support groups are inclusive to transgender and gender non-conforming survivors. In addition, our office provides free educational trainings and presentation to help our community better serve and support LGBTQ+ survivors.

For more information about our LGBTQ+ Support Group, contact Jennifer Heard at (352) 264-6737, or jheard@alachuacounty.us. For more information about our services or to request a presentation, please contact our 24-hour helpline at (352) 264-6760.

Visit Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center on Facebook to keep up with the most current information on our program services, upcoming support groups, and community outreach events, as well as educational readings and helpful resources for victims and the community at large.

"The Long Road: Images and Words by Survivors of Sexual Violence" originated as a product of a Survivors of Rape Trauma Support Group that focused on writing as an exploratory and healing tool. Members completed writing exercises throughout the 10 week group, then chose pieces for inclusion in the printed work that they felt conveyed what they needed or wanted to share with others.

After the group, survivors from the public were also invited to share images and writing. The final version includes an array of themes common to survivors of sexual violence at all stages of the healing journey. Male and female survivors, people hurt as adults and as children, people hurt within the context of a relationship, people experiencing a range of emotions from anger to shame to determination to serenity, thoughts expressed about supporters and about loved ones who could not be supportive - so much of what is here will strike a chord with other survivors, and perhaps offer them hope about their own recovery process.

​​"This book is written by and for teen survivors of sexual violence. The teens who contributed to this work have used their journal writing and artistic expression to aid them on the journey to healing."

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Office at 352-374-5275 at least 2 business days prior to the event. TDD users, please
call 711 (Florida Relay Service).

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